Gadsden Police Chief Richard Crouch retiring after long career in law enforcement

Saturday

Sep 17, 2011 at 10:19 PM

The man who hired Richard Crouch for his first job in law enforcement told him if he did the job for four or five years, he would never do anything else. The man was right.

BY LISA ROGERSTimes Staff Writer

The man who hired Richard Crouch for his first job in law enforcement told him if he did the job for four or five years, he would never do anything else. The man was right.Crouch is retiring as chief at the Gadsden Police Department after an almost 40-year career in law enforcement.“I really don’t know of any other job where you can go home feeling as good as you do with what you’ve accomplished that day,” Crouch said.At times the job in law enforcement has been frustrating, but “I can’t imagine a job that has that sense of accomplishment. The frustrations are consistently outweighed by the rewards for that feeling of accomplishment that you have gotten somebody off the street that was a significant danger to this community — or helped somebody. The satisfaction outweighs the frustration almost every day.”Crouch grew up in East Tennessee in a family of lawyers and judges, and had expected to go to law school. He and his family moved to Anniston when he was 14 years old, and he graduated from high school in Oxford.He was taking a pre-law curriculum at Jacksonville State University and decided to try to get a job at the Anniston Police Department while attending college.“I thought, ‘What a great background for law school,’” Crouch said. “It would be a great way to work my way through.”He took the tests for the job, but did not make it because the city officials thought he would only be there a couple of years.When he talked to the public safety director in charge of hiring, Crouch told him he planned to be in the job for four or five years.“He said, ‘Son, if you do this for four or five years, you’ll never do anything else,’” Crouch said. “He was 100 percent right.”He went to work in the summer of 1972 at the Anniston Police Department. Working full time, it took him two more years to graduate from JSU.Crouch and some other officers decided to take some courses at the Birmingham School of Law.“We took the courses that were of interest to us professionally,” he said. He never finished law school, but the courses helped in his career.“I had no interest in practicing law,” Crouch said. “I knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer.”He worked his way through the ranks to captain at Anniston.“I realized that if you wanted to see real change, the only place for which you can do that is the chief’s office. That’s when I got in the chief’s market,” he said. Crouch left Anniston in 1982 to become chief at Starkville, Miss. While there, he went to Mississippi State University and obtained a master’s degree in public policy and administration.After five years, he became chief in Moultrie, Ga. He had that job for 11 years. The job in Gadsden was a good opportunity for Crouch and his wife, Mary, to be closer to their families.“We felt like we needed to be closer,” he said. His wife and her family are from Eastaboga.“Coming back to Alabama was very much coming back home for her,” Crouch said. “She has thoroughly enjoyed being back home. She went from being 200 or more miles away from her mother to being 30 minutes.”Through the years some, cases have stuck with Crouch, such as a homicide in Starkville that ended up being solved by a dog’s necropsy — equivalent to a human autopsy.“We recovered the remains of a dog that was buried in the adjoining county,” he said. “It was one of the most interesting cases I was ever part of.”A serial killer also was captured in Starkville during Crouch’s tenure.“He had killed young women from Tennessee to Texas,” he said. Crouch said they put up pictures of all those victims and saw the strong physical resemblance to the man’s wife.“It became very clear that he had killed his wife by proxy 13 to 15 times,” he said. “He used the same leather belt to strangle all the women. His wife was a Santeria witch. He could not destroy her without destroying himself.”Crouch said what he will remember most about Gadsden is the quality of the officers in the department.“Without a doubt, I am more proud ... of the quality of personnel in the organization,” he said. “It’s the most outstanding group of people I have ever had the privilege of working with. The only thing that is going to make it hard to walk away is the people. The stress of the job is not something I’m going to miss.”Under Crouch’s leadership, the department developed a stringent hiring process.“My primary obligation is to ensure the standards remain that high,” he said.Crouch said he also is proud of the department’s working relationships with other law enforcement agencies.“I’ve had the best working relationship with any law enforcement agencies here than any place I’ve ever been,” he said. “Todd Entrekin is the best sheriff I’ve ever worked with. We have accomplished some things we’re all proud of.”The merging of the police department and sheriff’s office narcotics operations has been one of the most positive moves for the department. He said combining the city and county SWAT teams to form the Joint Special Operations Group also has proven successful.Crouch said the working relationship that has developed among the Gadsden Police Department, Etowah County Sheriff’s Office and the Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit is special.“I’m really going to miss that,” he said. Rob Savage, commander of the DEU, said Crouch’s leadership has been instrumental in the unit’s success.“It’s been tremendous to work not only for him, but with him in the development of the programs we have,” he said. “In all my 25 years in law enforcement, Chief Crouch is one of the most professional law enforcement officers I have ever had the opportunity to work with. Not only have I learned a great deal from him, but he has become my friend and someone I have great respect for.”Entrekin said Crouch was instrumental in the communications system that the county and city both operate on and is available countywide.“We’re way ahead of most other cities and counties in Alabama as far as communications go,” Entrekin said. “And without a good communications system, none of the other things work.”Entrekin said he has a lot of respect for Crouch and has looked to him for decisions and advice.“He’s been like a mentor to me,” Entrekin said. Entrekin said the city and county work together on more projects than ever before.“We have come so far in the last four years in law enforcement in this county, and it’s not just for the betterment of our agencies, but for the betterment of all the citizens of this county,” Entrekin said.District Attorney Jimmie Harp said he believes Crouch was one of the people most instrumental in the formation of the DEU.“I appreciate his courage to make good decisions,” Harp said. “He’s leaving a great ship that is sailing in the right direction.”Crouch said he is proud of the department’s accomplishments in the last 13 years.“I’m proud of the people that make up this organization, and I am proud of the job they’re going to continue to do for this community,” Crouch said.

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